


The Cats of Overwatch

by GiveMeABreak80



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Cats, Chronal Disassociation, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self-Hatred, like actual cats, not furries or kink or anything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:14:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27601240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GiveMeABreak80/pseuds/GiveMeABreak80
Summary: Brigitte adopts stray cats at the Overwatch Watchpoint and they grow on the heroes in different ways.(Like I said in the tags, this isn't kinky or anything, I'm talking about actual, literal cats).
Comments: 42
Kudos: 77





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I thought it would be fun to assign cats to most of the Overwatch members and see what they'd do, so I did it!  
> Hopefully this is ok and not too ooc. Let me know if there are any errors or if something is wrong.  
> Enjoy! :)

Brigitte has had cats around for as long as she can remember. A litter of kittens had been born the same day she was, apparently. She doesn’t remember, of course, but her mother swore up and down that it happened. Then those kittens had kittens, and it had only gotten wilder from there. So there hasn’t been a time where she didn’t have cats.  
That’s why, when Brigitte moved to the Overwatch facilities, she was weirdly lonely. It had taken a while to figure out why: no cats. The constant presence of the little furry creatures had helped her in so many ways for so long that being without them was strange and… empty.  
Then, only a week into her employment, a stray cat turned up in the garage. And another one showed up, so she had two, then after a month there were four. After that, she stopped counting.  
With each new addition came a new name and a new furry personality to accompany her. Some stayed with her in the garage for the majority of the days, chasing stray bolts and batting at wrenches. Others wandered the gardens, hunting small rodents and enjoying the sun. More still wandered the hallways of the watchpoint. At some point during the day, most of the cats ventured into the building, because that’s where they got scratches and demanded attention from busy people.  
Brigitte felt at home with her kitties, finally glad that their furry presence could once again fill the gaps in her day. After a while, the cats did the same for the other (mostly) human residents.

*

Lena Oxton knew her way around stray cats, having been a street rat in her teenage years. They were normally a very good judge of character and helped her avoid getting into some nasty encounters, so she’d always make time to bend down and give some pets to the cats wandering their halls.  
One day, a certain grey cat found Lena Oxton curled into herself in a broom closet. Shaking and sobbing, she didn’t notice the bit of fluff enter the dark room before it rubbed its face on her leg. “Oh hey,” she choked out, reaching out a hand to give it a scratch. “Misty, right?” It meowed and put a paw on her lap.  
“You want a seat?” Lena sniffed and scooted upright to provide an adequate surface for the cat, who promptly curled up.  
She couldn’t hold back a small smile from forming as she stroked him, feeling the deep rumbling purr vibrate through her body, grounding her in the present.  
Ever since then Misty would find Lena whenever she would have another dissociative episode. It started to feel like the cat had a sixth sense for it, but Lena never questioned Misty’s affection, always finding immense comfort in his soft fur and deep purrs.

*

Angela never cared for cats. She didn’t hate them, but she never had pets as a child and didn’t have the time for them as an adult.  
That’s why a siamese cat jumping up onto her paperwork surprised her. “Hey!” She had snapped. “I was reading that.”  
Never mind the fact her eyes were too busy drifting shut for the past five minutes for her to concentrate on words. “Can you please move?”  
The cat sat down.  
“Gott verdammt,” she sighed, dragging a hand down her face. “Ok. Fine. But only for a few minutes.”  
Angela stroked the cat a few times, stopping periodically to give it a good neck scratch. Then it flopped over, and Angela awed out loud. She was careful to avoid the belly area, not wanting to betray its trust. Purring followed not long after, and Angela just couldn’t stop herself from giving the cat all the love it wanted.  
This was not a one-time occurrence, too. Every night when she was the last one up, cats would periodically check in on her, well they’d demand love, but it forced her to take much-needed breaks and rant to her doting audience about things few other people could understand. The siamese cat in particular, Sushi, had found a liking to curling up under her desk. She’d done that often enough that the doctor purchased a cat bed to hopefully provide more comfort than the tile floor.  
Angela always appreciated the nighttime company, especially when her thoughts grew too loud.

*

The cats liking Bastion was a surprise, especially with Ganymede. Several times Bastion had to remind the natural hunters that Ganymede was off-limits before they relented. After that, it was smooth sailing.  
Some of the more human-adverse cats would curl up on and around him on the sunny days, enjoying the light whir of his machinery and comforted knowing he’d watch their backs.  
Bastion had managed to perfect petting them as well; as much as he could, at least. He wouldn’t do it much, but it made him chirp happily to hear them purr and rub their faces against him.  
The sight of Bastion and his many animal friends was enough to make even Torbjorn smile on the worst of days.

*

It wasn’t shocking that Hana Song loved cats. Her logo may be a bunny, but there wasn’t a time of day when she wasn’t cooing at her little babies. She had a regular who she’d lovingly called C.va that was commonly seen curled up on her bed behind her while she streamed. Her fans loved the cat so much she had installed a cat cam for them.  
On off-hours when she wasn’t streaming, C.va was someone she could talk to about the worst of things. Memories Hana still couldn’t bring herself to tell another human. The little black cat would crawl up to her rub on her face, making the young girl giggle in the darkest of moments.  
Nightmares were even a little more bearable when a purring creature would soothe Hana from struggling to gulp down air in her panicked state and remind her that she’s not alone.  
Hana had stocked up on enough treats that many of the cats stopped by her room throughout the day to get a snack, but C.va was the one who rarely left her side, and was always there when she was hurting.  
Her cat companion made it easier to sit herself up in the morning and get through the day.

*

Quickly, the cats had found a liking to Reinhardt, specifically climbing and perching atop his broad shoulders. One morning he entered the cafeteria with three on his shoulders and another in his arms. Hana couldn’t stop giggling, and Fareeha snapped a picture that she ended up printing out and pinning to a corkboard.  
Everyone in the watchpoint found it entertaining how Reinhardt would talk to each cat like it was a war hero.  
“Good morning my fellow comrade! Any victorious battles fought last night?”  
A few of the creatures had taken to meowing back, prompting Reinhardt to have a compelling conversation with them, voice booming.  
He was the one they brought their dead prizes to because most others yelped and tossed the corpse into the trash. Reinhardt, however, shouted in joy. “Another war won, my friend! Now tell me, did this one put up a fight?”  
The German man would pretend to hear a reply. “Well, excellent hunting, I wish you luck in your next battle. Thank you for the gift!”  
Reinhardt would make a show of picking up the dead animal and digging it a “warrior’s grave.”  
There was a little section in the watchpoint’s garden filled with little rocks lined up like gravestones that everyone knew not to dig up.

*

Winston wasn’t happy, at first, with letting Brigitte have cats. One was fine - it kept to itself and didn’t cause trouble - but upwards of ten was too many.  
“They’re fine, I promise! I’ll take care of feeding them and everything, you don’t have to worry about it,” Brigitte had told him, holding one of the furry creatures in her arms.  
“I-“ He had sighed, rubbing his forehead. “Fine. I’ll add a cat section to the budget.”  
“Thank you!”  
Winston had to admit, Brigitte wasn’t wrong. Having cats around was great for team morale and was even a little nice for him.  
When the first cat - a pure white one - found its way into his lab, he wasn’t pleased.  
But weeks later, it wasn’t uncommon to hear a couple of cats batting around peanut butter lids and getting twisted in the extra length in the rope which held up his tire.  
At least he was no longer talking to just himself when mulling over theories and solutions to new technology.

*

Duke, a brown tabby (who they later found out was a girl), spent a lot of time with Jesse, the resident cowboy. He named her randomly one day, and it stuck. It was fitting how the misfit and the ratty, large cat with a half of an ear missing bonded.  
It was weird how similar Duke and Jesse were. In not liking to be woken up, enjoying sitting outside in the fresh air, and their lazy antics. They even took smoke breaks together, much to Angela’s dismay. But Jesse swore he wouldn’t get the smoke anywhere near her, and he took that very seriously.  
He much enjoyed having a furry companion who’d endlessly listen to his old stories of his time in Deadlock and Blackwatch, and wouldn’t even call him out for saying he once rode a horse backwards while blackout drunk and managed to win a gang fight. Because that definitely happened, despite what everyone else said.  
One day, quite a few months after Duke arrived, he woke up to find a pile of four kittens in his hat. He’d left his hat unturned on his floor one night and Duke must have stored her kittens there to keep them safe.  
When he went to breakfast that morning, he cradled the hat safely in his hands while Duke followed. That was the first time anyone at Overwatch had seen him without his hat on.

*

Lucio was a loud person, always either blasting music in his headphones or a speaker clipped to his belt. That, paired with the constant humming and tapping, one would think that the stray cats would avoid the noise.  
Most did, and Lucio didn’t really mind. There was one exception, however.  
Brigitte was very excited when a furless cat showed up to meow on their doorstep, never having had a sphinx before, and the little guy turned out to be quite exciting indeed.  
He meowed a lot and wasn’t frightened of anything, so it was fitting he hung around Lucio.  
Lucio named his hairless friend Frog. Upon suggesting this name at a dinner, Hana and Lena both couldn’t stop giggling, and Amelie just shook her head with a light smile, so he went with it.  
Frog the sphinx certainly had one of the biggest personalities at Overwatch, but so did Lucio, so it made sense.

*

Overwatch’s hard light specialist didn’t like cats. They left fur everywhere, they licked themselves, and were dirty. It made her cringe.  
So Satya made a hard-light screen for her door to prevent cats from sneaking in.  
She couldn’t do anything but avoid the furry creatures outside of her room, however, but the cats didn’t take much interest in her anyways. Satya preferred to observe them from a distance.  
To be fair, they may be a bit gross, but she appreciated the grace and poise most of the cats had; they held themselves as if they were royalty.  
Satya respected all of the cats, but she only warmed up to a select few of them and there was just one she cared to pet. That snow-white cat, aptly named Majesty, was picturesque and extremely dainty. She wasn’t one to roll in the dirt, so to speak.  
One day when Angela caught Satya ridding her clothing of long white fur one day, she didn’t say anything, but sent an impressed nod to a suspicious white cat sitting on the floor by the specialist’s feet.

*

When cats started appearing at the watchpoint, Mei had been slightly concerned about Snowball. She didn’t know who’d win the fight between her drone friend and a cat, but the fallout wouldn’t be good.  
Fortunately, Snowball loved the cats, and after a minute to scope out the robot, the cats didn’t mind Snowball. There were many times when Mei had watched Snowball and a few cats chase each other throughout the entire watchpoint in some weird game she couldn’t figure out. But if Snowball’s ever-present digital smile on its face was a clue, they were having a good time.  
Mei was careful about letting the cats in her lab, but she always left her room door open a crack if any cat wanted to sneak in for some cuddles or a shelter.  
A side effect from staying frozen for too many years, Mei perpetually felt cold, but the heat from the cats never failed to warm her up.  
Moo, who she’d named after its white and black spotted fur, found her curled up under the covers in her bed, shivering and sobbing. She could only hold the heavy grief of her lost friends in her heart for so long before putting it down. “Hey,” she said, wiping a tear away.  
Moo had snorted and settled down on the bed beside her.  
Mei had only sobbed harder, but Moo’s gentle, warm presence was always welcome, especially on the bad days.  
The cats could never replace the holes left in Mei’s soul by her friends, but they made it easier to bear.

*

Ana wasn’t a cat person, but the cats loved her, to the amusement of every other Overwatch hero.  
She grumbled when they swatted at her laces and unceremoniously scooped them up and dumped them on the floor when they sat on her paperwork.  
Ana didn’t have time for them; they got enough attention from the other people anyway.  
But despite her obvious and outward annoyance, they didn’t stop rubbing at her legs at many opportunities and crawling onto her lap during Overwatch movie night.  
There were too many sneaky pictures of her frowning at a cute cat in her lap.  
Ana is just not a cat person; she’ll tolerate them, but not much more. Everyone knows that.  
Once Reinhardt walked on her cooing at a cat in her arms, and he had barely time to open his mouth in joy before she spoke, words clipped and voice dangerous. “If you say a word, I’ll castrate you.”  
He froze, and promptly walked back out, never saying a word.

*

Genji had worried the cats wouldn’t like him. He was built of whirring machinery and metal limbs, he’d probably scare them to death.  
He was so wrong.  
Many times when he mediated, a handful of cats would end up laying against the warm metal of his body. Genji would never admit it, but this alone almost single-handedly destroyed his hate for his metal body. If the cats liked it, it was good for something other than causing death.  
A certain feisty ginger cat took a liking to him. Flynn, the cat’s name was.  
Flynn gave him someone to take care of, someone to love. It was nice, and it helped him with his anger. For so long he had worked to contain the bloodthirsty fury that stayed with him from Blackwatch days, and Flynn helped him where Zenyatta’s teachings couldn’t. Holding the little ginger beast soothed him to no end, and playing with him allowed Genji to do something physical that wasn’t destroying bots in the practice range.  
It always made everyone aww when he walked into meetings with a cat perched atop his shoulders.

*

The omnic monk was already a mysterious presence in the watchpoint, but the way the cats treated him made it even stranger.  
They sat with him as he meditated, but didn’t meow or beg for attention. It’s as if they knew to be respectful because he was busy.  
Genji once witnessed Zenyatta giving a black cat a head scratch and telling it, “cats can go to the iris too.”  
He always regarded and treated the cats with the utmost respect, and the cats did the same.  
When the cats started to join in on the meditation, it attracted some of the younger Overwatch heroes to the exercise. The furry friends were surprisingly good at calming the inhabitants of the candle-lit room to help them achieve a meditative state.  
No one questioned it when Zenyatta floated the halls with a cat in his lap. Sometimes the cats needed a little soothing now and again, too.

*

Amelie had a strange relationship with the cats. In a way, Amelie was much like a cat herself. Quiet, contemplative, observant, and lithe. She picked a few of the cat’s habits, much to Lena’s amusement, such as facial expressions, cocking her head in curiosity, lying in the sun, and stretching out to make herself very comfortable on couches and beds.  
As an ex-Talon assassin, she was very slow to trust, and everyone was slow to trust her. It wasn’t a surprise when their shyest cat, a female tortoiseshell, found a liking to her.  
Their alliance was wary at first, neither one not really knowing what to think of the other. But after time, Amelie would be commonly found stretched out with her furry friend in the sun.  
One day she carried the skittish cat into a mission debriefing, announcing “this is Gala,” and that was its name.  
Gala helped her in more ways she could imagine.  
When memories of her mind being shredded and body being beaten overcame her, Gala was there with the steady purring and heavy kneading to bring her back to the present. Nightmares were not uncommon, but they were made a little more manageable when there was a cat to wake up next to. Gala noticed when Amelie came back from a mission, trembling and pacing, and she refused to leave the sniper’s side for the rest of the day. Her company soothes Amelie immensely.  
Gala and her tended to listen to each other’s cues, so when either of them finally trusted a new person, the other followed suit. They did remain careful, though, and always watched each other’s backs.  
Everyone in Overwatch was glad Amelie found someone to spend time with and help her feel comfortable. Secretly, they thought it was super cute how the two cared for each other in their own way.

*

At 5:00 AM, only one hero was awake: Fareeha. She followed the routine of waking up before the sun to run around the watchpoint grounds, then going straight to the gym for weights and other strength training.  
When the cats joined Overwatch, the Egyptian finally had company in the mornings. It was nice.  
Then a couple of cats at least would sit with Fareeha as she drank tea at 7:30 AM after her shower.  
Before, she’d be alone with her thoughts, but now she got to give treats to begging cats and hand out the occasional scratch between reps.  
When Fareeha’s depression tried to keep her in bed, she was now coerced up to do her workout by a furry creature wanting its early-morning love. And depression naps later in the day were never spent alone: a certain calico cat would always curl up next to her face and look at her with benevolent eyes.  
She named him Cairo.  
He helped her through flashbacks, too. If a plate crashed in the cafeteria or the smell of gunpowder hit her in the wrong way or she just got triggered, he was there.  
Fareeha’s shaky hands would stroke Cairo’s fur, and she would be able to slowly bring her out of loud, bloody memories.  
It was rare for her beloved navy sweater to not be covered in cat fur, but it was a small price to pay for the company of her wonderful Cairo.

*

The cats had filled Brigitte’s life for as long as she can remember, and now all of Overwatch can’t imagine a time without them.


	2. Overwatch Gang Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More Overwatch heroes meet Brigitte's cats! (still talking about the actual animal lmao)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part two is here!  
> Hopefully it meets (or exceeds) your expectations :)
> 
> (The Talon gang is coming next - excluding Widowmaker because in this story she's already in Overwatch)

Everyone was wary to let Jamison be alone with a cat. It wasn't his loud, manic jumpiness, it was more so his obsession with explosives and lack of forethought. 

However, everyone was pleasantly surprised when his first reaction was to lower his voice and gently hold out a hand to the first cat he saw. It turned out he had spent his childhood around many cats, dogs, pigs, chickens, and anything else that wouldn’t bite his hand off. 

It was comically predictable that the one cat with a missing front leg and smooth brown fur enjoyed Jamison’s company the most. Maybe it was the fact he’d let the little guy chew on his leg - or maybe it was his suspicious access to many different types of treats that Overwatch definitely didn’t purchase with their cat budget money.

The first time someone had ever seen Jamison sit still was when Jesse had walked into their rec room for a deck of cards to find the Australian sitting very quietly in a patch of sun with the ball of fur curled in his lap.

The cat, who’d Jamison named Junkcat (Cat for short), was a great subject for him to go over his many plans and projects with. Cat would listen intently for a very long time, and even if he closed his eyes Jamison knew he was still listening.

Don’t let his new quiet side fool you, both Jamison and the cat found themselves in heaps of trouble on a regular basis. So much so that Angela had begun taking a small veterinary course in case any emergencies occurred. As of yet, Cat seemed to have a special skill in avoiding fire and anything that ticked, so all was well.

*

Even though Mako Rutledge was more chill and definitely more quiet than his counterpart, Jamison, the cats were wary at first. It was something to do with being unable to see his face past the gas mask.

But after a few weeks, their fears were long gone. Mako’s calm presence always seemed to chill even the loudest and anxious cats in the watchpoint. It wasn’t uncommon to see at least a cat or two curled up by him, relishing in his protective aura. 

A few times Overwatch heroes brought cats to him that were needy when important things had to be done. Angela came the most often, fretting about a lab with “extremely dangerous chemicals,” and “I don’t know how they keep getting into the lab.” Mako was happy to take care of the cats when their favourite human was busy. It was a good reminder that despite the wreck of a life he’d had, cats still deemed him worthy of trust.

He also happened to be the main person who herded them away from explosives. Mako could no longer count on his hands how many times he saved Jamison's furry friend from singeing his whiskers. Every time it happened, he’d shake his head and tell the engineer to be more careful. Jamison never did, so Mako was on guard every time it seemed like his friend was about to do something stupid. It was what kept life exciting.

*

It would be accurate to say that Hanzo was a very quiet person, keeping to the practice range (where the cats were firmly not allowed), his room, and the garden. But he didn’t like cats; not really, anyway. He didn’t mind them, but he was preferential to solitude, and he didn’t like the fur that got everywhere. He wouldn’t respond to their begging and would stiffen when they rubbed up against his legs.

Unfortunately, a dark grey tabby cat wouldn’t leave him alone. Genji named her Suki because he said her green eyes held more care than any humans’ did. Hanzo would be hard-pressed to admit it, but Suki helped him open up to himself and forgive. With her help, he felt more and more like he’d truly become part of Overwatch every day.

At first their relationship was full of the archer frowning and scooching her out of his room, but it grew into him sneaking her treats and as many pets as he could without anyone seeing.

Of course, everyone in the watchpoint knew and followed Hanzo’s progression with the cats, but never mentioned it. They found he was less jumpy with Suki by him or on his lap. Hanzo just didn’t want to scare her, and it didn’t hurt to have a gentle presence beside him. 

In the darkest of moments, Suki reminded Hanzo that he was deserving of trust, and while he had once brought pain and death, he was capable of bringing happiness and love, too. 

When he couldn’t stop seeing blood covering his hands - Genji’s blood - petting Suki provided a more soothing feeling to counter the warm liquid his nerves wouldn’t let him forget. Sleep wasn’t easy anymore, but it wasn’t as lonely for Hanzo when he had someone to spend the long nights with.

*

Jack was a grumpy man in every sense of the word, but when it came to cats he was unrecognizable. The gruff facade held for about half a second before the fierce veteran’s eyes lit up at the sight of them, and he struggled to continue his serious conversation with Winston about future plans. Thankfully, Winston noticed and told Jack they’d continue another time so he could meet the cats.

If treats were found around the Watchpoint in strange places, Jack was to blame. He said it was “strategic,” it “strengthened their senses,” and “they’re part of Overwatch now, so someone’s gotta train them.”

Reinhardt had heartily agreed, and everyone else shook their heads but accepted it. 

One day their resident flamepoint cat - one that almost everyone had fawned over at one point - chose Jack, sitting on his visor and crying at him for pets. From then on, the cat wouldn’t leave him alone. 

Jack learned to not leave anything taller than four inches standing up on his desk, lest it be knocked off and played with. The soldier pretended to be mad, but in reality he was just really happy to have company, even if it was a little annoying. 

He named the rascal Nathan. Lena had pouted at the “boring” name, but Jack thought it fit.

Nathan seemed to know when Jack was about to have a flashback or any sort of crisis, and was very good at jumping up onto Jack’s lap and calming him down before the problem began to really start. 

No one believed Jack when he insisted he was still more of a dog person.

*

For someone so tough, everyone was delighted to see Zarya cuddle the cats so gently. She was completely unashamed to coo Russian words at them as they passed and become distracted from conversations to crouch down and pet them. It was very sweet.

The cats certainly enjoyed being able to climb her like a tree when Reinhardt wasn’t available. She let it happen because it was nice company and she got to show off her strength with a cat perched on either shoulder. 

Zarya did have a habit of dropping them when they wanted to go down and tossing them lightly onto couches and beds, which horrified Hana and Jesse, but they always landed on their feet. And, as she said, “it looks fun.” The Russian did have a point and some of the cats seemed to look forward to the air time, so no harm done.

Even after grueling workouts, Zarya would spend time and play with them, either dragging a string around or flicking a feather toy in her hands. Sometimes she would pull out a cardboard box and drag them around on a makeshift sled. It didn’t make the nicest noise and it was an absurd sight to see, but the cats really liked it. 

Brigitte took the liberty to make a prettier and less-abrasive-sounding sled for the cats. Zarya had thanked her with a heavy clap on the back.

It was always an amusing sight to see one of Russia’s most decorated soldiers constantly enamoured by tiny furry creatures.

*


	3. Talon Gang

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Talon gang gets cats!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part three is here :)  
> ((I hope this is ok for y'all!))

After hijacking the Overwatch complex’s security cameras and finding out they’d adopted cats, Sombra just couldn’t go on without collecting some of her own. Humanely, of course; she wasn’t not a monster. She thought it was an incredibly charitable move to adopt six of them from a local shelter and let them loose in the Talon headquarters. Sombra even bought food, treats, and tons of cat toys and structures with Gabe’s credit card.

The hacker had a hoot watching Akande, Moria, and Gabe discover the cats wandering freely in the halls. Eventually they overcame their bewilderment and managed to wrangle the cats into a room. Shortly after, an exasperated Gabe instructed her to come “ **to the** **conference room one at once, Sombra.** ”

She giggled upon entry and explained to them how Overwatch recently got cats and that she was too nice to leave Talon out of the fun.

After some harsh words and Sombra getting constantly distracted by their new furry friends, Gabe and Akande relented. They would let her keep the cats. Even if they hadn’t agreed, and instead wanted to return the cats, Sombra would’ve loved to see them try. 

Sombra was absolutely delighted when a little black cat, Noche, decided to stick around with her. Noche seemed to love the hum of computers and wasn’t bothered by the light of Sombra’s screens in the middle of the night. She would even periodically get scratches as long as she lay within arm’s reach of the hacker.

Sombra made a little collar with a tracker, camera, and vital sign sensor on it. Of course the colour was purple and all the tech small enough not to be noticeable; she’s a professional.

Aside from the everyday cat things, Noche helped her in ways she wasn’t aware of. Sombra finally had someone to talk to and fully trust, and even though she scanned the cat for tech that wasn’t her own every time she saw her, it was nice. Nightmares from her past became easier to bounce back from when there was something solid - not just virtual - to ground her to the present and hold through the night. Sombra found that being holed up in her room alone was a lot different with the company of a little friend.

Having something permanent in her life for once wasn’t as bad as she used to think.

*

Not that he would tell anyone, but Gabe liked the cats around. When Sombra had released them into Talon HQ he had been very conflicted. He loved cats, but could Talon’s operatives take care of them? Could he take care of them? The answer turned out to be yes.

Providing food, water, and treats for them proved to be relatively easy - he would just send a Talon goon for a grocery run whenever restocking was needed.

At first he was terrified that they’d be scared of his abilities and his not-always-solid body, but was pleased to find that they didn’t care. They simply watched curiously as he turned his body to vapour and back, swatting at the smoke every now and then as if it was hypnotizing to watch

One cat was so unaffected by Gabe’s “badass aura,” as he called it, that it wouldn’t stop batting at his cloak. Naturally, the genetically-altered terrorist crouched down, picking up a little string toy to play with it. Of course Sombra happened to enter the room minutes later to snap a picture and send a mass email to all of Talon.

At least he’d still had his mask on.

He named that playful white cat Ajax. 

It was a shame that their only white cat bonded with him. All of the long cat hair was a plague on his pristine black clothes; it was not only difficult to remove, but it completely ruined his image. Gabe now had to use immense amounts of lint rollers to look presentable, but he wasn’t complaining too much. Having Ajax by his side was well worth it: his furry friend encouraged him to smile at times when anger was the only thing clouding his vision, and having a cat on his lap did more to make him feel grounded than anything had since he’d been changed.

Gabe would never tell her this, but he was grateful Sombra decided Talon needed cats.

*

They’d all seen what Moira could do to bunnies, so it would have been an understatement to say that both Sombra and Gabe kept a very careful eye on the number of cats they had at first.

To everyone’s surprise, Moira had a soft spot for little creatures, having grown up around one - which was very lucky for the cats.

Very quickly, it was established that cats were not allowed in her lab. There were too many hazards and they would be a “detrimental influence on the live experiments,” said Moira once, talking about her bunnies.

In the common areas, it wasn’t about as rare as it was strange to see Moira giving the cats cuddles. She had ways of making the cats purr the loudest anyone had ever heard, but if asked how, she would shrug and say “my charm.” 

The dodgy scientist managed to enthrall not one but two cats, which - in a weird way - made sense. Moira stayed holed up in her lab for many hours, so it wasn’t to the same level as Sombra or Gabe, but when she finally crawled out of her cave she had constant company. 

The ginger cat, whom she named Charlie, was just like Moira; quiet, observant, and mean-looking. She didn’t always beg for scratches from Moira, opting instead to keep to the sunny patches of their common area, but was always happy to receive attention whenever the scientist had time.

Griffin was more forward; she would follow Moira and leap onto her lap whenever she wanted scratches. But at least Griffin was a sphynx, so Moira wouldn’t get bothersome cat hair on her clothes. The hairlessness amused Sombra to no end, invoking the nickname “rata” and bouts of laughter no one could understand. 

Moira, when she needed to take a break to think, tended to find her cats and pick them up, one in each arm. The cats, strangely, loved it, and Sombra had nearly dropped her meal when she first saw Moira through the security cameras. There was nothing better - and worse - than seeing a scary six-foot scientist carrying two cats as if they were babies.

*

At first, the presence of cats was unnerving for Akande. He felt their eyes on him constantly as he tried to go about his own business. 

Then it was annoying. Akande had important things to do, important paperwork to sift through, and important emails to reply to. He ran this cell of Talon, after all. 

But the cats didn’t care; they wouldn’t stop knocking things off his desk. He wasn’t aware of how much stuff he kept on his desk until it was all on the floor. 

One cat in particular liked to hang around his office, a dark grey tabby with a surprisingly deep meow. Over time, Akande found out that if he provided the beast with adequate attention for a few minutes whenever it was required, he would curl up in a spare seat and leave Akande alone to work. 

Akande named his cat Zeus. Sombra thought that was tacky and had immediately told him so, but the criticism was ignored. The name was both funny and fitting for the cat’s strong, stubborn, and annoying nature.

Eventually he accepted all the cats and the cats accepted him. They were used to his long hours and didn’t bother him too much - in return, he gave them treats whenever they asked. Akande got used to the feeling of little beady eyes on him every once in a while, surprised at the comfort their presence provided him.

Especially Zeus; he couldn’t deny the feeling of ease it gave him when Zeus sat on his lap during meetings, purring softly and occasionally popping his head up for pats. 

Both Gabe and Sombra joked that the cats made him soft, but he didn’t mind. Not when the little creatures in question gave him back his humanity.

*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it from me!  
> Hopefully you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing :)  
> Thank you all very much for sticking with the story and your kind comments! It's nice to see how this has touched other people as well


End file.
